Tears
by Lovingandbeingloved
Summary: After a hard day for Will and Ari, Sonny comes home to wipe away the tears.


I didn't know this would all be so hard. I mean, I knew it would be hard, but Ari has been screaming her head off all night. I've tried everything to calm her down, and she only seems to get more irritated. Honestly, I'm hitting my breaking point. I want to curl up in a ball and cry. Being a dad is so much harder than I predicted. I just want her to be happy. The one thing in the world I want for her, and I can't figure out how to give it to her. To make matters worse, Sonny is closing Common Grounds tonight and I feel alone and lost.

He grounds me. When I'm tired he takes over. When I need a break, he steps in. When I have class, he takes off work. What would I do without him? He is everything to me, to us.

I dial his number, and he answers with a smile. I can hear it in his voice. "Hey you, what's up?"

"Son," I yell over my crying daughter. "She won't stop crying. I've literally tried everything."

"Hey, hey, hey. Calm down. I'll be home in about ten minutes. We can figure this out together. Okay?"

"Yeah. Okay. God, have I told you lately how much I love you?"

"You've mentioned it once or twice. Be there soon. Promise. Love you."

"You're the best. Thanks. Love you too."

I walk into the nursery and cradle Ari in my arms. Her face is crimson and tear stained from the hours of crying. I would have thought she would have worn herself down by now, but she is still going strong. I feel bad for Sonny. He has had a long day of work and he has to come home to a screaming baby. I check her diaper again thinking maybe I missed something the first, second, or third time. Nope, dry. I try Mr. Bunny. Nope, she seems to shriek louder when the purple plush bunny is shoved in her face. I don't blame her, really. Paci? Nope. Bottle? Nope. Walking? Nope. Singing? Nope. Nothing is making her happy. I hear the front door open and a familiar voice yells, "Guess who's home?"

I jump up out of the rocking chair, finally feeling relief from hearing that calm voice. I lay Ari in her crib so that I can show my affection before bombarding him with a screaming baby. I race down the hallway, socks sliding on the hardwood floor and throw my arms around him.

He looks at me with a huge smile and runs his hands over my warm cheeks. "Look at you. You look exhausted." He wraps his arms tight around my waist and pulls me into a soft kiss. The tension in my body eases and he lifts my chin to look into my eyes. "Hey, you're doing a great job, you know that, right? Some days are going to be harder than others. Today is just one of those hard days. Now, let's go see what is wrong with our little darling."

As we walk down the hall the wails become louder and louder. "Man she's got some lungs doesn't she?" he laughs.

"Son, I've never heard her like this before." I walk into the room first and peek over the edge of the crib. "Hey sweetheart, guess who is home?"

Sonny reaches over the crib and picks up our crying daughter. "Hi pumpkin, what's wrong? Did you miss me today? I love you."

As soon as Sonny lifts Ari into his arms she instantly calms. She nuzzles her face into his shoulder and quietly coos. In minutes she is out cold in his arms. He lays her back down in her crib and turns to me. I'm on the brink of tears. I love that Sonny has the magic touch, but I feel inferior. How could she blatantly reject me but instantly feel safe and comfortable in his arms? I try not to feel jealous, but it is hard.

"Hey, let's go to our room," he says, laying his hand on the small of my back.

We double check the baby monitor and shut the door halfway. As soon as we enter our room, I fall back on the bed. Tears sting my eyes. "Son, does she just not love me as much? Is she uncomfortable with me."

"No," he almost yells. "Don't talk like that Will. She just had a rough night, so did you. You could sense each other's frustration, that's all. Don't worry about it, okay? And don't ever feel like she doesn't love you. She is your daughter."

"No, Son. She is our daughter. I'm sorry."

Now the tears are free flowing, partially because I'm so overwhelmed, and partially because I'm overjoyed by the love Sonny has for me. Sonny slowly walks toward the bed. He presses his knees into the soft comforter and straddles my hips. He kisses me, tenderly first, then with a fiery passion. He wipes his hands across my eyes. "No tears," he says. He begins unbuttoning my shirt and runs his palms down my chest. He leans in for another kiss and slowly makes his way down my neck and chest. I moan in pleasure as he focuses in on the area behind my ear that I love so much. He trails back down my chest then suddenly stops. I look at his face confused as he goes back to my neck and sniffs me like he is a hound dog on the hunt. He does it again and I'm confused. Do I smell bad?

"Ummm…Son, what are you doing? Do I smell bad?"

"Will, you smell different. Whose cologne do you have on?"

"WHAT…SONNY…what do you mean?" I fly up, nearly knocking him off of me. Is he implying that I have another man's scent on me?

"No…Will, what cologne did you put on this morning?"

I look up for a minute, thinking back to this evening when I finally had a chance to get showered and cleaned up. "Oh, I put on that new cologne that your mom gave me. I had forgotten she gave it to me."

"THAT'S IT!" he yelled excitedly.

"What?"

"Will, what time did you shower and clean up?"

"Uhh… I don't know, like 6 o'clock when Ari was napping."

"What time did she wake up from her nap?"

"Like 7ish. Sonny, where are you going with this?"

"And when did she start her crying fit?"

"As soon as I picked her up... OH MY GOSH, SONNY!"

"Will, she was confused. You didn't smell like her daddy. You smelled foreign. She's used to your normal scent."

At this point I was so happy that my daughter didn't hate me, that I had tears in my eyes again. "I love you. Oh my gosh, I love you. Did I ever tell you that?"

"Maybe once or twice."

"Did I ever tell you that you are a GENIUS!"

"Ohhh… that's a new one."

"Hey, I want to go take a shower and get this smell off of me. When our little lady needs fed later, I want her to know it's me and I love her."

"Well, ummm…you think you might need some help cleaning up in the shower?"

"I certainly don't think it would hurt." I wink at him and pull his hand toward the bathroom. "Oh, don't forget the baby monitor. Let's go."


End file.
